“The Sheol Express: Dispatches from the Bordertowns” is a blog about the creation of a short film produced at New York University in the spring of 2009. You’ll hear from Mike and Ryan – friends, Co-Writers, and Co-Directors – and other members of the production and post teams as the story travels from page to screen. Hopefully, we’ll give you a great inside look at the making of a very unique short that will inspire you both creatively and personally.
THE STORY
Tired of traveling the underworld, Owen Turner boards The Sheol Express, a fantastical train that ferries souls to their final resting place at the End of the Line. En route, Owen meets Rachael, a visionary who proclaims the existence of Araboth, an alleged paradise near the second-to-last stop before the End of the Line. Contesting her claim is the charismatic peddler Diggory Venn, who is as critical of Rachael’s radicalism as he is devoted to sensory pleasures. Scoffing at Rachael’s outlandish beliefs, Diggory encourages Owen to kick back, forget about Araboth, and enjoy the ride to the End of the Line. As The Sheol Express plows through the night, Owen wavers between the guarantee of a final resting place and the possibility of a better life: if he leaves the train before the End of the Line and Araboth is no more than Rachael’s wishful fantasy, Owen risks wandering the world alone. But if Araboth is more than a delusion, he stands to reclaim a hope he lost long ago.
Sheol is a wasteland without water, inhabited by souls condemned to travel from town to town along the railroad servicing The Sheol Express, a mysterious train bound for the End of the Line. The End of the Line, they say, is the final resting place for souls weary of wandering the parched frontier. To board, passengers must forfeit their citizenship and are never heard from again. This closure is precisely what Diggory, the train’s charismatic peddler of luxury wares, purportedly longs to embrace. He entices Owen with promises of material pleasures at the End of the Line, endeavoring to make the best of an otherwise meaningless afterlife. He’ll have nothing to do with Rachael and her zealous belief in Araboth, an alleged paradise teeming with everything that Sheol lacks: water, light, and green. Although Owen wants to believe Rachael’s radical claims, he can’t shake his suspicion that she might be making it up. As Diggory is eager to point out, Rachael has no real proof of Araboth. Can Owen leap into the unknown, sacrificing comfort and stability for the hope of a better life? Should he?
Hope is a human phenomenon, as necessary as it is absurd. In “The Sheol Express”, writers and directors Michael Koehler and Ryan Patch explore the connection between hope and intellectual integrity. Hope is found where certainty is not: it dwells in the most unlikely of places, in the hearts of people who are themselves confused, in the folds of hypocrisy and doubt that pervade postmodernity. Raised in religious families but educated at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Koehler and Patch approach the possibility of truth from a unique perspective. Their encounters with other cultures and deep, personal struggles with faith inform what is not just a social question, but a spiritual one: what place does truth have in our relative world? In 27 minutes, they bring audiences face-to-face with the same question that faces Owen: what, if anything, is Araboth? Where is it today? And finally, what are we – as individuals weary of our endless routine – willing to risk to find out?
For more thematic information, check out the Directors’ Statement.
THE PRODUCTION
In the summer of 2008, two students at New York University – Ryan Patch and Michael Koehler – began writing the script that would become “The Sheol Express”. An amalgamation of original ideas, established mythologies, and surprising dreams, the script took shape over the course of several months. The production team began to form in late 2008, attracting top talent from the Tisch School of the Arts and all around New York City. In the spring of 2009, having chosen four lead actors from a pool of more than 1200 submissions, Mike and Ryan began rehearsals. Meanwhile, construction plans were drafted, costumes were fitted, and the world of the story began to take shape in the basement of an East Village theatre. The production designers researched, designed, and constructed – among other sets – a thirty-foot train corridor entirely from scratch. Shotlists were written and rewritten as the film’s distinctive visual style matured. The team grew to include more than 60 students and professionals from all around New York City. Everyone knew: we’ve got something very special on our hands here, and the team worked ceaselessly to ensure it would get to the screen.
On the first day of production, the sets were loaded onto the soundstage without a hitch, and two days later the camera began rolling. Everything looked fantastic. Months of rehearsals paid off as everyone gave their all to every shot. When production wrapped at the end of April, the team had achieved its vision.
Still, our journey is not complete! We are in the heat of post-production, collaborating to bring the edit, sound design, special effects, and a variety of other elements together to realize “The Sheol Express”. For more information, check out our post-production prospectus (click for link).
THE WORLD
- Resident Historian Reaf Cobham III of Browerji
So, you’re here, wondering what in the world this “Sheol” is, and why there’s an express train there. Well, fortunately, we’ve got some information for you. The Hebrew word – שאול (pronounced Sh’ol), or, Sheol – means “grave” or “ground” in a way that doesn’t have the particular good or bad connotations which our western conceptions of “heaven” or “hell” have.
However, in this film, we’re re-inventing the word to be the name of our entire world – called “Sheol”, and we’ve brought in renowned Sheolean historian Reaf Cobham III of Browerji to tell you about it. A lover of fine ales and somewhat eccentric professor (on account of his fervent belief in the land of Araboth), Cobham III here discusses his understanding of Araboth, as well as Sheol at large. Look for his posts on the blog, which are compiled here for your convenience.
“Araboth is a forested paradise. It is hidden in the crescent valley on the other side of the mountains that crown the Herman Sea, far to the West of the Land of the Living. Araboth has always existed, just as the End of the Line has always existed; therefore, its history is rich and varied, involved enough to fill sixty-six windows aboard the Sheol Express.
“Prior to the First War, Araboth was a land of virtually uninterrupted peace. Those who found it settled gladly, and no one questioned the way of life. Most citizens live in the capital, but the city’s walls are by no means intended to limit. In fact, people live throughout the valley, with rugged individualists and simple rural folk choosing to make the woods their home. Everyone can come and go as they please.
“Long ago, Achra, a prominent citizen of Araboth – if Araboth had had a government at the time, he would have ranked among its political leaders – began to question his restful way of life. To put it simply: he was bored. There was no conflict, no challenge; only an easy-going existence with no end in sight. Deeming Araboth an unsustainable utopia, its citizens lazy elitists, Achra rallied a formidable force of supporters, all of whom shared his disillusion. Together, they endeavored to plunge Araboth into conflict, and thereby awaken all those who had “fallen asleep”; that is, turned a blind eye to something as natural as human conflict. The citizens of Araboth were forced to oppose his efforts, in order to protect their way of life. So the Army of the Light (the name of Araboth’s military) came into existence, and Araboth assembled its first governmental system, heretofore unnecessary, because there had never been any miscreants to govern. Walls were erected around the City to protect against Achra’s rebellion. The War was swift: ultimately, Achra and his force were cast out of Araboth, forbidden to return.
“Peace returned to Araboth, although the memory of the War left deep scars. The Great Bridge, which once connected Araboth to the rest of the Land of Sheol, was destroyed. Consequently, the two realms were severed, and Araboth closed its doors to free passage, inducting an era of separation. For years, Araboth was forgotten; the once-inhabited territories between Araboth and Erebu West no longer applicable, and ultimately abandoned. Over time, they became the Wastes, a desolate stretch of desert and tundra between Erebu West in the East, and the End of the Line in the West. Only the faithful – that is, those who believed enough in the so-called “legend” of Araboth to risk getting off the Sheol Express before its final destination – found their way to the crescent valley, with everyone else settling in dismal frontier towns.
“Meanwhile, in Araboth, unhappy rumblings filled the streets and rippled throughout the woods, as people continued to question the way of life they had once held so dear. Maybe Achra had been right!, they thought. It took the Second War to address such suspicion. Yerik, a humble and charismatic woodsman, championed Araboth’s traditional way of life, defending the peace. He preached tranquility and servanthood, warning against the dangers of complacency, a disease to which Araboth’s government had fallen prey. Naturally, those in power did not appreciate Yerik’s outspoken criticism. They declared the woodsman an outlaw and enemy of the very peace he worked to defend.
“Misunderstanding his message of peace, Yerik’s supporters declared war on the government that had saved them during the First War. The political leaders were toppled, and a new regime was established in the woodsman’s name. But much to his militant supporters’ chagrin, Yerik did not endorse their efforts. Instead, he decried their violent actions, insisting that they had undermined his message. Disillusioned and drunk on their newfound power, they condemned the woodsman to death. True to his word, Yerik did not resort to violence in defense of his life. Instead, he turned himself in, and in sacrificing his life, gave testament to the truth and power of his peaceful message. So moved were the members of the new regime that they stepped down, and for years thereafter, Araboth thrived, living out Yerik’s prophesied peace.
“Nevertheless, to this day, the threat of Achra’s return remains, and the possibility of a Third War lingers. Recent reports suggest that Achra is mustering an army of unprecedented force far to the West, prepping to sweep into Araboth and claim it in his name. Rumors tell of legions of black ships, massing in the western Herman sea, preparing to besiege Araboth. This leaves many questions: will Achra and his new army vanquish Araboth? Will Araboth destroy Achra, defending its faithful citizens? Or will Araboth pick up and leave altogether, determined to reclaim the Land of the Living, thereby forsaking Sheol to an eternity without salvation?”
***
Historian Reaf Cobham III’s published account of Araboth ends here. Undoubtedly, his personal journals contain troves of additional information, but according to Cobham III himself, these writings will remain unpublished. “As of yet, speculation,” he huffs. “I publish only Truth.“
